When I was a kid, my parents bought me my first robot. Except this was in the early 70s, so it wasn’t a real robot – it was a fuzzy effigy, a mechanized kitten thing. The kitten was tethered by co-joined wires to a long battery box which also served as a remote control. It could walk forward…stop…walk forward…stop; it might have even meowed, too – but I honestly don’t remember. Anyway you get the idea; the kitten wasn’t very exciting, and it certainly didn’t replicate the fun of owning a real cat. In other words, the kitten reacted but it did not interact. It bore no true resemblance to a real cat. It was supposed to be neat because it was a robot, but that’s really all that was neat about it.

Bear in mind the kitten was given to me not long after the “incident” when I had convinced my brother that he wanted to trade his incredibly cool Christmas robot (the one that showed a mini-movie of things blowing up on its stomach screen complete with sound effects) for some doll that I had received, so perhaps there was some parental bait and switch going on there.

Now granted, Mark’s robot didn’t interact, either. But it at least looked like a robot was supposed to look, which made all its other shortcomings moot. Man, I wish I still had my brother’s robot…for so many reasons.

But I digress.

A few decades passed, and toys got a lot more sophisticated. Fast forward to the late 90s: remember the Furby? Yeah, I bought one of those, too. Mine was brown and white, and it looked like Gizmo from Gremlins. What I liked about that little guy, beyond the fact that it was under $50, was that it was cute, it didn’t look like a creepy pet effigy, it was hackable, and if you put a couple of them together they would interact via their infrared ports. Granted, Furbies didn’t directly interact with humans (even though some people swore theirs did), so they weren’t quite as far up on the robotic evolutionary chain as I wanted. But they were definitely a step in the right direction, and for $35 I had no reason to complain.

In 2001, I got to review a Sony Aibo. At the time, this robot was retailing for $1500. It was programmable, interactive, and the closest thing to a true robotic pet that had ever been seen, at least by me. It also looked like a schizophrenic cross between a dog and a cat. Aibo’s plastic body was not conducive to cuddling or petting, and I had trouble getting past the fact that it was trying to look like a mash-up of real animals…but not.

See, here is my thing: I know what dogs and cats look like, act like, and feel like. So if you give me a robot made to resemble a dog or a cat, it will come with certain built-in expectations. These types of expectations may not apply to anyone but me, but they will still be there, and I won’t be able to get past them. These pet-type robots are too close to the animals they are meant to mimic, and yet they generally fall very short of the experience of owning an actual dog or cat. In another example of how hard I am to please, if the robot looks too similar to the animal it is meant to mimic, I will simply find it creepy. Witness the Yume Niko Smile; need I say more?

The answer then? Give me a robotic toy that is not based on an animal with which I am familiar. Make it a baby, so it’s cute. Make it lovable. Make it receptive to touch. Make it interactive. Make it programmable. Make it responsive. Make me want to pet it, hold it, touch it. Make it…

…a baby dinosaur named Pleo.

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I have reviewed a number of different higher end headphones, both here and at Just Another Mobile Monday. For the most part, these headphones have involved cramming a small speaker as deeply into your ear as possible, in order to a) block outside noise, and isolate you within the music; and b) get the music as close to your ear drum as possible. Given this background, you can imagine why I was a bit skeptical of the AirDrives. After so much time cramming things into my ear canals, it was strange to find earphones which instructed, “if the earphone blocks the ear canal in any way, the placement is not correct.”

These were going to be an adjustment for sure. Not only would I have to change my wearing patterns, but also my expectations. Not only was I used to cramming earphones deep into my ear canals, but I was also used to intentionally blocking outside noises. So, I was a bit perplexed when I read the AirDrive box, which brags about allowing you to hear outside noises and interact with others while listening. Huh?? Why would I want that? Typically, I put on my headphones in order to intentionally seal myself off from the outside world, wrapping the music around me like a cocoon. Then again, I started thinking about all of the times when I want to listen to music, but I can’t because I have to be aware of outside noises…like my children. OK, I thought. This is starting to make sense. I can listen for the kids (who are supposed to be sleeping) and hear the music at the same time. Let’s give them a try.

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One of the great joys (or curses) of being a ratpack is the absolute delight of searching for 100 watt light bulb in the garage storage shelf and accidentally stumbling upon a shoebox filled with assorted treasures. Pictures, matchbooks, ink pens, old business cards, TV remotes, a Palm Pilot with a cracked screen, and … a Sony Watchman.

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I find it only fitting that on Valentine’s Day I write about one of the vehicle’s I am most in love with – the Jaguar XKR, and in convertible form no less.

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I just noticed a posting on AT&T’s own discussion forum indicating an important terms & conditions change for all Data Connect plans. (Note: This does not appear to impact iPhone plans but does include Blackberry plans that allow tethering). Details and a link to the full terms and condition are on the next page.

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I have been writing for most of my life. Short stories. False starts on novels. Three different newspapers and two radio stations. Heck, even as a lawyer I spend most of my day writing and editing. And, of course, here at Gear Diary and Just Another Mobile Monday. And let me tell you, I have suffered for my art. I have spend countless hours hunched over my desk in positions which would probably make a chiropractor insane, editing documents from early in the day until late at night. I know this can’t be good. And the fine folks at Levenger’s, who are well known for their tools for readers and writers, agree. With my semi-permanently curved spine, and dozens of others just like it, in mind, they designed the Editor’s Desk. Now, some of you may be shocked to find such a low tech “device” on a site like Gear Diary. But really, as a writer, there are few things I can think of that would be more useful than the four pieces of wood included in this box.

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Over the past week or so, I’ve been putting the E-TEN X800 through its paces. Having owned or used the M500, G500, and M700, I thought I knew what to expect with the X800.  The GSM radios in all three of those quad-band GSM phones left a great deal to be desired. Honestly, I was poised for yet another disappointment…boy was I ever wrong!

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I started experimenting with Google Apps for a story I wrote about a month ago. For those who have never used Google Apps – think of it as Google’s version of Microsoft Office – only there is no software to load because everything runs in your web browser.

Here are my summarized first impressions after a solid month of use. If I’m off base, take me to school in the comments. Continue Reading

I was eager to review the Mobile Edge /Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag, because it is one of the most original I’ve ever seen. Combining the extremely well executed features we have come to expect from Mobile Edge with the sassy iconic images Maddie Powers’ designs borrow from 1940s and 50s pulp fiction magazines, the Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag is one hot tamale.

Check it out…

photo courtesy of Mobile Edge

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I stumbled upon this gem from GOODMagazine about the Business of Death; far from being morbid, it is thought-provoking and at times quite humorous.

So how about it, have you made your final plans? After watching this video, did you get any ideas? Change your opinion about anything? Decide that it won’t happen to you, so there’s no need to even worry about it?

Okay, okay, I couldn’t help the early newspaper type alliterative headline. Being a Detroit native, this story of alleged sex and perjury caught my attention.

The story is that the mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, fired some police officers. The officers sued the city claiming wrongful termination. They claimed that the mayor fired them because they were going to tell about an affair they claimed he was having with his chief of staff. On the witness stand, the mayor and the chief of staff swore they weren’t having an affair. Now they are in hot water for perjury. Their accuser, you may ask? Story is that it was 14,000 some-odd text messages on a city-owned pager. The gadget got ‘em – allegedly detailing their relationship – meeting times, feelings, etc.

Image Source: MANDI WRIGHT/Detroit Free Press

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Good things do come in small packages.

I asked my LEGO friends Beetle and Maynard with their girlfriends Sunshine and Faith to check out the new Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker that Thomas at USB Fever sent from overseas.

Beetle: “As sound technicians for the Best Little LEGO Band from Nashville, we got frustrated with the round speakers that came with our Apple Shuffle.”

Sunshine: “Then Kerry and Judie from GearDiary told us about these speakers from USB Fever.”

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This review has been a struggle to write. Not because of a problem with the product so much, but because of my irregular sleep patterns and my less than regular schedule. Let me start by giving you an overview of how my typical day goes…never mind, I have no typical days.

Instead of a routine of “up at 7 and to bed by 11″, I go to bed anywhere from 10pm to 4am – depending upon whether I need to get up early the next morning, or whether I am using the quiet late hours to work on a particular review. I might get up at 6:30am when I have an early appointment, or I may sleep in until 1pm if I don’t have to be anywhere until later in the day. This is, of course, when I am not suffering from insomnia. On those nights, it isn’t unheard of for me to stay up all night, all of the following day, and then I’ll crash early the following night.

It took a while for me to accept that what was normal for me wasn’t necessarily normal for others, and it has taken me even longer to acclimate those close to me to my weird sleep habits. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t days – even weeks – where I need to keep a somewhat “normal” schedule, getting to bed at a decent time – and even harder, getting up at a set time.

On some of these days where I might sleep for a solid 8 hours, but when the alarm clock goes off I’ll wake up groggy, feeling unrested and as if I was only asleep for a few moments. Then there are other days where I might only catch a few hours sleep, but I’ll be wide awake when the alarm clock goes off – able to leave my bed refreshed and ready for whatever.

I have never paid much attention to the science of sleep, so other than knowing that REM was a band, and that the acronym stood for “Rapid Eye Movement“, and that this was a sleep stage mentioned in the book Firestarter…well, you get the idea. I was pretty ignorant about sleep stages.

So here is the quick version explaining how the process works:

When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4-5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages, as illustrated by this chart.

No two people have the same sleep cycles, and nobody has the same cycle twice. Many factors can influence sleep cycles, including diet, exercise, medications, drugs or alcohol, stress, sleep disorders, and sleep deprivation. Age and gender can play a role, too: women tend to sleep more soundly than men, and as we age, we sleep more restlessly.

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When I first started using portable devices, way back in 2000, I thought they would be a fantastic vehicle for editing photos and creating slideshows and picture movies. They weren’t. At least not then. Fast forward to 2005, when I discovered Resco Photo Viewer. At last , a mobile photo editor which was comparable, in many ways, to my desktop. Now we were talking. But still, I could not find a way to mix my photos with music or video to . Well, now there is TrakAxe Mobile, which allows you to “create mixes in three easy steps.” Hit the jump for a closer look.

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Vincent, always the enabler, knows that I am tempted by the MacBook Air – even though I can’t exactly justify it, and even though I so recently complained about Apple Tech Support. But his video is so intriguing…and the Air is so thin, so light, and so drool-worthy.

I can’t help but wonder though, if this would be one of those technolust purchases that would only disappoint me in the end? I mean, I really wanted an Apple tablet of some kind – larger than the iPhone, running the full Leopard OS. I really don’t need another 13ish-inch laptop, ya know?

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